“Goatville” is what they called it then. Now imagine golfers fuming. It’s all part of the story of Fox Hills.
Fox Hills on Staten Island wasn’t always about serene streets. Once it was a rural hamlet. Think fishing ponds and wooded trails.
Around 1860, Louis Henry Meyer bought 18 acres. Meyer was a railway president and bank founder. He transformed a manor into a showplace. He became one of the “Staten Island Barons.”
But Fox Hills’ story truly blooms with golf. The Fox Hills Golf Club emerged in 1900. It had 200 members. It was Staten Island’s first 18-hole course. The course was laid out on Meyer’s former estate. It quickly gained fame. People called it the finest in the area. Sand traps and a large pond challenged golfers. One hole, the 13th, was named “Hell’s Kitchen”. Isaac Mackie, a Scottish club maker, likely designed the course. He even competed in the U.S. Open.
The golfers had to deal with local goats running wild. These goats came from “Goatville”. It was a settlement of Italian immigrants. They held onto old customs. The golfers complained. The Health Department went to war on the goats. Police issued summonses to goat owners.
Then came World War I. In 1918, Hoff General Hospital No. 41 rose next to the golf course. It was built in four months. It cost $2 million. It became the largest army hospital in the world. People called it the Fox Hills Base Hospital. It held 3,000 patients. The hospital had a barber shop and a theater.
The Fox Hills Base Hospital closed in 1922. It was rundown and a firetrap. Patients moved to Sea View Hospital. The Golf Club closed its doors in 1935 due to the Great Depression. The goats had long gone by then.
During World War II, the Army reactivated Fox Hills. It became an army base. It also served as a POW camp. Barracks became homes for veterans. The facility shut down in the early 1950s.
So, next time you pass through Fox Hills, remember its layers. From elite estates to golfing greens. From goat conflicts to wartime hospitals. It’s a place where history echoes.